Man dies at Death Valley trailhead hours after LA Times interview

A 71-year-old man died Tuesday afternoon in Death Valley National Park at a trailhead just hours after speaking with a Los Angeles Times reporter.

Steve Curry, who was from Los Angeles, collapsed outside a restroom for the Golden Canyon trailhead around 3:30 p.m. when temperatures in the park were 121 degrees, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. Just hours earlier, Curry was interviewed by a Los Angeles Times reporter for a story about the extreme heat in the park.

Curry told the Times, “It’s a dry heat. … Everything is hot here.”

Curry had hiked from Golden Canyon to Zabriskie Point on Tuesday morning, according to the Times.

Eventually, Curry hiked back from Zabriskie Point to his car parked at the Golden Canyon trailhead where he collapsed. Park visitors noticed Curry and called 911 for assistance around 3:40 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.

The Inyo County coroner’s office did not determine his cause of death as of Wednesday, but park rangers said they believe heat was a factor, according to a National Park Service news release.

The man’s death is possibly the second heat-related death in Death Valley this year after a 65-year-old man died on July 3.

The park service warned visitors to look for signs of heat stroke while outside in triple-digit temperatures, which include rapid, shallow breathing; disorientation; rapid heart rate; nausea and vomiting; seizures; hot and dry skin; and muscle weakness and cramps.

Visitors should immediately seek medical help if they believe they have heat stroke, the park service said.